Marriage.

For the summer, I was employed as a contract DJ who primarily did wedding receptions. Something about marriage bugs me. At least in other people. There seems to be a very primal inability to say to oneself, "I can't marry this idiot, we don't match at all. We have nothing in common. I hate Pasta and he owns an Italian restaurant." etc. etc.

In America, and, I imagine also abroad, people toss conventional common sense out the window and marry because of instinct. More to the point, they get married because they think they're supposed to.

For women, their biological clock goes off early. Seems to be around 22. They get the voice. You know the one. "Got to get me a man..." Over and over again in their head repeating and intensifying until they find one. And half of the time (statistically) he's the wrong one. I saw one wedding this year where I believe the couple were truly in love. They knew each other since high school and were simply gaga eyed over each other.

Men are different. Statistically now, men are waiting until around 30 to tie the knot. This, according to "experts", is because men are focusing on job and career goals first, and then worrying about a wife and family. So you ladies have to endure the biological screaming until he's 30.

The statistic I quoted earlier, you know, about women marrying the wrong guy - has to do with the staggering divorce rate in this country. Most couple literally utter the vows, hoping they really don't have to be kept, thinking in the back of their mind, "If this doesn't work, I can always get divorced."

This whole thing, and I mean marriage in general, strikes me as a very selfish idea in our society. It's fine to get married because you're truly in love and have found your soul mate. However, it's a bad idea to marry if you simply think of the whole thing in a half-assed kind of way. After marriage comes kids, then a divorce destroys their world and sends them into a lifetime of late night counseling sessions, and neither parent cares. They just want out!

This country needs to start taking this ceremonial proceeding the way it was originally intended. As a life time commitment, not as something they can get out of later. Don't let your marriage be "just another statistic" - use your friggin' head for a change.